


Never Say Die

by DevillesDemon



Category: The Goonies (1985)
Genre: 1980s, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Andy Stef and Brand are in Uni now, Chunk is soft, Data blows stuff up, F/M, Five Years Later, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Frattellis break out of jail, Friendship, Mama Fratelli has a backstory, Mikey is also soft, Mouth studies Geography, Mutual Pining, Nostalgia, OC is a law student, Protective Mouth, Romance, Sibling Bonding, Teenage Dorks, The Inferno, girl talk, pirate ship, the goonies are 17/18, treasure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22776595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevillesDemon/pseuds/DevillesDemon
Summary: When Lacey Nichols is assigned a law essay on the Fratellis, she seeks out the help of those who met them in the flesh: the Goonies. But with the Fratellis out of jail, the gang discover that maybe they need her information more than she needs theirs.
Relationships: Background Andy Carmichael/Brand Walsh, Clark "Mouth" Devereaux/Original Female Character, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Prison Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Goonies ind out that the Fratellis have broken out of prison; Mikey finds a Note.

Michael Walsh was in his choice class - history - when the news came through.

"Hello, class, this announcement will only take a little of your time," the besuited, official-looking man said as he walked in. The teacher was abruptly cut off and glared at the man, but he took no notice.

"I've come to inform you that there has been a mass prison break," he said. "Twenty-one prisoners have escaped, five being high-security. If you see anything suspicious, please report it to the police."

For the first time since their adventure three years ago, Mikey found it hard to breathe. He slowly raised his hand, and the official set piercing eyes upon him. "You have a question?"

"Yes. About some of the prisoners - did any of the Fratellis manage to escape?"

"That is classified."

Mikey frowned. "But-"

"I'm sorry, young man, I am not permitted to say. Any other questions?"

Mikey slid back down in his seat. The pit of his stomach was broiling with bad feelings. So many 'what if's circled his mind, whispering of the things that could happen, stirring his agitation until he suddenly swept everything into his bag and pushed his chair back from the desk loudly. Despite the teacher's calls, he kept walking until he reached the door, and only then did he stop while he opened it before slipping out into the cool corridor.

The made a bee-line for his locker, swapping out his history book for his lunch, as the break would start in ten minutes. When he pulled out the tuppaware box containing his sandwiches, a slip of paper fluttered to the floor. Mikey stared at it for a second before picking it up and using his thumb to unfold it.

His eyes widened as they scanned the words, and his breathing quickened. It was unbelievable - so fast - but then the official hadn't said when it happened.

For starters, the note was written in a reddish-brown ink that looked heart-stoppingly similar to blood. Second, the page was burnt - by what, he had no idea.

The Fratellis had escaped, found his school, found his locker, and were now after the rich stuff to pay for the three years that they had been put away; the sum they were demanding clocked in at over two million dollars.

Mikey knew they didn't have that money anymore. That handful of gems in his marble bag had been worth less than a million, and the money went to buying back their houses from the country club. It took a lot to do that. Unless they resold the estate, they weren't going to get that money back.

When people started to stream into the corridor, Mikey refolded the letter and slid it into his pocket, closing his locker and pushing through the crowd, trying to see his friends through the throng.

Mouth's locker was closest, and Mikey saw his own reflection in the mirror on the inside of it before he saw the back of Mouth's head.

"We need to talk," Mikey said quickly.

"It's not you, it's me," Mouth replied, turning to face Mikey with a grin.

Mikey gave him a look. "You're despacable."

"Despicable," Mouth corrected.

Mikey waved a hand distractedly, looking around to see if he could spot Data or Chunk. "That's what I said."

Smiling quietly for once, Mouth pulled out a folder and pushed it into his bag. He checked his hair in the mirror and flashed himself a grin before closing his locker and bumping Mikey's shoulder.

"So what's up?"

Mikey shook his head. "I'll explain when we find the others. Did you not get the announcement?"

"No?"

"I'll tell you later. We've got to find everyone."

Mouth raised an eyebrow and caught Mikey's arm before he could plough through the sea of students. "Mikey, hey, Mikey. What's got you so worked up?" His eyes widened and he cocked his head. "Have you got a crush? I'm a hit with the ladies, if you need help-"

Mikey pulled away from Mouth and sent him a look that shut him up in an instant.

"We need to find them, quick. Let's split up."

Chunk was easy to find - he was in the lunch queue, talking animatedly to anyone that would listen about his new sandwich flavour. Mouth hauled him out and Chunk waved goodbye to his unwilling listeners.

"I was having a good conversation there," Chunk complained loudly.

"Well we're going to have a good conversation about Mikey. I think his paranoia is getting out of hand."

"Uh, okay."

Elsewhere, Mikey was following the stench of rotten eggs to the chemistry labs, where Data was profusely damning the smashed vial in the midst of a large, smoking mess on the floor.

"Data," Mikey called. "What is this?"

"I was doing an experiment," Data needlessly explained.

"For what? No, never mind. It's lunch. I need to talk to you guys about something very important."

"Sure. Can I clean-"

"This is more important."

"I'm coming." Data picked up his bag, glancing down at the smoking puddle. "I sure hope Miss doesn't know it was me."

The four converged on a picnic bench on the school field.

"So Mikey, what's up?" Chunk asked.

"This mean looking guy came into my History class before lunch," Mikey started. "He said there was a prison break."

There was a beat.

"A prison break?" Mouth echoed. "That is so cool! Who was it? Have they found them?"

"Oh Mikey," Data said slowly. "Mikey, it wasn't..."

Chunk paled, his hands gripping the table so hard his knuckles turned white. "They're out?"

Mouth looked between them all, taking in somber and panicked expressions. "I don't get it."

"The guy wouldn't tell me who it was. Twenty one escaped."

"Oh, that's fine then," Data surmised. "It probably wasn't."

"Except I found this in my locker." Mickey placed the paper flat on the table, open.

Chunk was the first to panic.

"They're coming for us," he wailed, looking around quickly. "We've got to go into hiding, you guys!"

Data nodded grimly. "That's the Fratellis, definitely." 

"And they want gold or revenge. Where are we going to get the money, Mikey?"

"We'll find something. There's got to be something! Maybe Willy left a secret stash above ground- or there might be something else in the attic-"

Mouth refolded the note and handed it back to Mikey. "As if you haven't already gone through all that stuff," he pointed out. "Anyway, it's probably those stupid rich dumbasses trying to be clever."

"And if it's not?"

"We're doomed!" Chunk wailed.

"Don't be like that Chunk," Data chimed.

"Do," Chunk said. "They're going to kill us. Torture us. Blender our hands!"

"We are not going to die," Mikey said firmly. He sounded more confident than he felt. "We'll find a way. We're the Goonies, remember?"

"We're _half_ ," Mouth corrected.

"We should tell Brand," Chunk urged. "He'll know what to do."

Mikey shook his head. "Maybe... But not yet. He'll worry too much." 

Data delved into his bag. "If there's one thing I want before I die, it's- hey, what's this?"

He pulled out a piece of paper, roughly folded into half.

"You guys..."

"They're going to kill us," Chunk repeated unhelpfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness I actually started a Goonies fanfiction! Kinda natural due to my unnatural love of all things 80s (Labyrinth is still my favourite film though!). I love all the characters equally, but this is definitely a Mouth centred piece - though don't be fooled, the relationship isn't the driver of this plot, the Fratellis' revenge is. 
> 
> Originally published on Wattpad under 'LabyrinthFan'


	2. The Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey is given the topic of the Fratellis for her law essay, and researches Mama Fratellis' past.

"Okay, class, for your next assignment I would like you to research the person whose name you will pick out of this bowl in just a moment. I want thorough reports - dates, crimes, the lot."

Lacey Nichols smiled at the law teacher as he offered her the bowl, and picked a slip.

She turned to her best friend Jude while she picked hers, then they shared a look and smoothed them out.

"James Draton," Jude read out, with little recognition in her voice.

Lacey cocked her head at her own slip. "The Fratelli family?"

Jude peered over. "Wow. I wonder why they're classed as one?"

Lacey stared at the paper. "The name seems familiar..."

"You'll know it when you research it, probably. I've never heard of mine."

"Then you'll learn a lot, which is why you're here," Lacey said, in her mock teacher voice. "You'll be fine. We'll rock these assignments."

"This is due three weeks today," the teacher said. "No less than ten sides."

Jude lowered her forehead to the table. "Remind me why I took law?"

Lacey hid her smile behind her hand. "Because it's a high paid job when you finish."

Jude lifted her head, picking up her pen with a little more vigour. "Oh yeah. I'm so going to get that beach house one day."

***

Sighing heavily, Lacey paused from her work and took a scalding sip of hot chocolate. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and narrowed her eyes at her pile of books in frustration.

At first, her research had been fruitful. Countless offences, including murder, attempted murder and theft were listed for Anne, Jake and Francis Fratelli. After a little more digging she had come across a birth certificate for Anne's third child, Lotney, but no more reference to him after that - not even a death certificate. It wasn't a far stretch to assume he was dead and buried without the knowledge of the law.

With another heavy sigh, she glanced out of the window, wondering if it was too late to request a study session with Jude; 'study session' being code for chick flicks and as much popcorn as they could dig out of the back of their cupboards, coated in honey, syrup or chocolate sauce, or whatever other sweet toppings they could find.

It was light enough outside - the spring was just giving way to summer, and the nights were becoming longer - but the sun was falling fast. It was worth a try. If she cycled she'd be there before nightfall, and they could make it a sleepover.

Lacey hopped up from her desk and grabbed her denim jacket, slinging it around her shoulders as she thundered downstairs. Her plan was this: a short explanation, then quickly out of the door before her mom could say otherwise.

"Mom!" She called out, hanging on the front door handle, poised for action. "I'm going to Jude's for the night!"

Lacey managed to open the door half way before her mother came into the hallway and glared at her. "Stop right there, young lady."

"But mom," Lacey whined. "It's a study session-"

"And there's an imposed curfew on the town."

Lacey wrinkled her nose. "A curfew?"

"Yes. There was a mass prison break not two days ago. I don't want you roaming the streets, you hear? You'll be much safer staying in here."

Lacey reluctantly released the door. "Okay, mom. I'll be in my room if you want me."

"Hey hey, little lady," her mom said teasingly.

Lacey lifted her head and offered a small smile before she hugged her mother. "Love you."

"Love you too. Now go see if you can get any more of that assignment of yours done, okay? I don't want you to do it last-minute again."

***

At the very bottom of the pile, in one of the oldest newspaper compilations, Lacey had a breakthrough.

**HOUSEWIFE TURNED MURDERER**

**ANNE FRATELLI CHARGED FOR MURDER OF HUSBAND**

Lacey pulled the article towards her and began to read.

**Last night, Anne Fratelli was apprehended on the San Francisco freeway, with her three sons in the back seats. One child, only sixteen months old, was severely injured, with bruises around his neck and a fractured skull. Her two other sons, aged four and six, were unharmed.**

Lacey's eyes widened. _Perhaps Lotney did die, after all?_

**Four days prior, her husband Frank was found dead in the family kitchen, with several knife wounds to his chest. Anne has admitted to murdering her husband, but has told authorities: "I had to kill him before he killed my baby". Her reasoning being that Frank threatened and then strangled baby Lotney, refusing to let go until she took matters into her own hands and killed him. A trial will be held in two weeks, where a long sentence is expected.**

Lacey barely hid her smile. Finally, some juicy material! A soft side to this murderous family - a reasoning behind the senseless violence. She was willing to bet anything that the murder had a domino affect, pushing Anne into a life of crime and she dragging her sons along with her. But what had happened to Lotney? Assumedly he was alive at the time of the article, but he must have suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen - being just a baby at the time - and likely died.

Lacey sighed. _What a horrible backstory._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of feeling sorry for our dear Anne (I pinched the name from her actor, Anne Ramsey). 
> 
> What do you think? Drop me a comment!


	3. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey finds out what happened five years ago, and corners Data at lunch in a bid to grill him for more information.

Lacey went into school the next day with some pep in her step. Just a bit more material and she was sure she'd have enough to get the assignment done.

At lunch, she and Jude grabbed a pizza slice each from the canteen and legged it to the library to find a good spot to study. They made camp in the back corner, swamping the large table with books and newspapers from the shelves.

"My guy was so cute when he was younger," Jude commented, pursing her lips as she looked at a newspaper.

"Ugh, gag me." Lacey raised an eyebrow. "Let's see it, then."

Jude pushed over the paper and Lacey peered at the photo.

"Alright," she conceded. "He's kinda cute."

"Isn't he just? What about you?"

"Me?" Lacey shuffled through her papers. "They're not going to win any beauty contests, that's for sure."

Jude reached over and pulled a newspaper from the pile. "Aw, bummer, they're not. More on page twenty five..."

Lacey picked up her pen and started noting down a couple more dates and names while Jude read through the full article.

"Hey, hold up," Jude said suddenly. "Michael Walsh. Isn't that..?"

Lacey glanced up. "Mikey? Yeah, why?"

Jude frowned down at the newspaper. "You'd better read this. It's dated four years ago."

***

Down in the science labs, Data was finishing off his detention - cleaning the glassware. He'd made a mistake when he mentioned the experiment-gone-wrong in the corridor to Chunk. He wasn't sure who dropped him in it, but he was working on his lie detector. His trials had gone with varying degrees of success - some explosive - but he was optimistic that he'd find the snitch in less than a year. Maybe.

"Thank you, Richard, you may go to lunch now," the science teacher said, and looked on disapprovingly as he stumbled out of the classroom.

Looking forward to finally eating his lunch in the ten minutes left of break, he went to his locker to collect it, and was just putting it in his bag when a girl - Lacey - came around the corner.

"Hey," she said, seeing her chance. She didn't think she'd catch one of the four so soon. "Richard, right?"

Data blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, who else would I be talking to?"

"Well, yes, but no one calls me that. I'm just Data."

"Well, 'just Data', have you got some time? I've got some questions."

He eyed her speculatively. "Questions? Like what?"

"Like pirate questions."

His eyes widened. "Pirate?"

She hefted her bag onto the opposite shoulder impatiently. "Yeah. Can we walk and talk?"

"S-sure. I've got to eat though, I just had detention-"

"I can manage."

She followed him outside, where they both sat on the low brick wall.

"Alright, so first question." Lacey fished the article from her bag and held it up in front of him. "Did this actually happen?"

He nodded.

"So you actually outsmarted the Fratellis?"

He nodded again, unable to speak because of a mouthful of tuna and mayo.

Lacey smiled, her eyes filling with admiration. "That is so cool. Do you think you guys could give me a full account? And statements on the Fratellis?"

Data shrugged and took another bite, keen to finish and escape Lacey's questions.

But she wasn't finished. "There's a lot of things I'd like to know. The article doesn't say much- I mean, they had guns, right? Did anyone get hurt? And the treasure - where did the rest of it end up?"

Data lifted his shoulders again silently.

She looked down at the paper again, but her eyes slid slyly over to watch him. "Jesus, I actually can't believe we have some actual cool crime-busting treasure-hunting people in our school."

"It was nothing," Data finally said, taking the bait. "They're not very good shots."

"Oh yeah? Or did you use one of those great inventions of yours to steal the show?"

He beamed and didn't question her buttering up. "Well, the best one was my Pinchers of Peril - but don't forget my Slick Shoes! Of course, I like my Bully line of gadgets best - I spent months and months studying on them and investing them-"

"So how did you use them against the Fratellis?" Lacey asked eagerly.

Behind them, the bell rang, and Data looked down at his uneaten chocolate bar forlornly. "I've got to go to class."

"That's okay," she said, standing up. "I do too. Can I ask you more questions another time? How about tonight?"

"Uh, I've got a- a thing, tonight."

She raised her eyebrows. "A date?"

He shook his head. "No. It's top secret."

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards as she shouldered her bag. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone about the 'thing'. I'll catch up with you tomorrow, maybe lunch?"

Data nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, Data's free- I'm free."

Lacey walked away, a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. Her assignment was going to be legendary.


	4. Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Goonies debate Data's 'girlfriend'. Mouth is suspicious of Lacey's intentions.

"You guys!" Chunk cried, bursting into the Walsh's living room. "You'll never guess what!"

"I can guess," Mouth said, popping a potato chip into his mouth. He was sitting on the edge of the coffee table while Mikey poured over the documents on top of it. "Alright, so, the laundrette broke down and Michael Crawford came to use your washing machine."

Chunk huffed and collapsed into the sofa chair. "No."

"The laundrette broke down and Madonna came to use your washing machine?"

"No!" Chunk scowled and folded his arms. "But I did see her on the motorway the other day, I swear."

Mouth rolled his eyes and popped another crisp. "I'm so sure."

"What this is about, is about Data and a girl," Chunk said smugly.

Mikey finally looked up from the table, his concentration broken. "What?"

Mouth leaned forwards, eyebrow lifted. "What's your damage? Are you sure?"

Chunk nodded satisfiedly, revelling in the undivided attention. "Yeah. And you'll never guess who!"

"Not that goth chick Veronica," Mouth said. "She'd sit on him and squash him."

"No." Chunk paused before announcing: "Lacey Nichols!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Who the hell is she?"

Mikey slammed his hand down on the table, then shook it to get rid of the sting, excitement shining in his eyes. "That's that girl- the quiet one - brunette? Um... shortish, quiet, brunette..."

"Exactly!" Chunk said delightedly. "And Data said she approached him for a talk! I only saw him for a minute, so he didn't say what about-"

"Chunk, seriously, it could've been about anything," Mikey said, turning back to the table.

"Oh I'm _sure_ Miss Nichols had a good reason," Mouth said. "Mikey, is she... bodacious?"

"Shut up, Mouth," Mikey said flatly.

"Ah, I see." Mouth kicker his feet back up. "Someone's jealous."

"Not likely," Chunk said. "He likes someone else."

"Yeah, he just won't say who," Mouth said, using his heel to move the papers around.

"Stop it, this is important!" Mikey exclaimed, pushing his feet off.

Mouth hugged and threw his legs over the arm of the chair instead. However, a few seconds later he smiled to himself, formulating how best to tease Data.

Data unhooked the weight from the Walsh's gate to disable the alarm and came through, replacing the weight afterwards. "Hi guys!" He said as he walked in (though not before almost walking through the glass door).

"Hey, Data," Mouth said, without looking up. "Bit late. Get held up by your girlfriend?"

Data stopped in his tracks and his eyes flickered between the boys, who were all trying to appear disinterested.

Figuring it was just a joke, Data continued into the room and sat down on the sofa next to "No," he said, "I had to go feed the next door's cat. The neighbours are away."

"Speaking of away," Mikey said suddenly, "Mum's going on a spa holiday in two days. Brand's coming back at the weekend to babysit. He's bringing Andy."

Mouth groaned in annoyance.

"I thought you'd be happy!" Mikey exclaimed, bemused.

"Yeah, but _Brand's_ babysitting," Mouth said, as if it explained everything. "As if you need it. I guess at least now he's got his licence."

"You're just wondering if Stef's coming with Andy," Chunk observed, and ducked to avoid a pencil that Mouth picked up from the table and chucked at him.

"Hey, I was using that!" Mikey got up to find it again.

"No, I'm not." Mouth picked up an orange from the fruit bowl and eyed up Chunk. "I'm actually wondering why Nichols wanted to speak to you today, Data."

Data blinked, surprised. "How did you know about that?"

He waggled his fingers. " _Magic_."

"I told him," Chunk said, rolling his eyes. The orange hit him straight in the chest.

"Right. Well, really, all she wanted to know was about the One Eyed Willy thing."

"The One Eyed Willy thing?" Mikey echoed, popping up from behind the sofa with pencil in hand. "Why?"

Data shrugged. "Don't know. She wanted... Hmm... She asked a lot about the Fratellis."

"The Fratellis?" Mikey echoed.

"That's what I said," Data replied. "Keep up. So-"

"Maybe she's a Fratelli spy!" Chunk fretted. "You guys, we should tell the police about all this."

"I've been thinking; the whole thing might just be someone pranking us. It could even be her," Mouth reasoned.

"Why would she, though?" Mikey asked.

"Why don't we ask her?" Mouth countered.

Chunk threw the orange half-heartedly at Mouth. "As if we could go up to her and say 'oh hey, just wondered if you're playing a mean trick on us?'."

"When are we going to see her, anyway?" Mikey said, staring absentmindedly at his notes.

"She said she'd find me tomorrow lunch," Data interjected.

"Then you can ask!" Chunk said.

Data shook his head. "I'm not asking that. I think she actually likes me. I don't want to make her hate me."

"Get real. _I'll_ do it," Mouth said. "You meet her by your locker, Data, and I'll rock up and ask."


	5. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mouth meets Lacey and invites her to Mikey's house; Mikey is not impressed. Lacey's dad gives her a warning.

Lacey was so excited to squeeze the details out of Data that she frequently zoned out in lessons, wondering what she'd find out.

When lunch finally rolled around she was glad to pack her bags and leave the stuffy English classroom. Jude caught her arm on the way out and the two shared a smile and a promise to meet up afterwards.

She made a bee-line for Data's locker, knowing it was her most reliable bet on where to find him. However, she was puzzled to find not Data, but another boy waiting by his locker. The boy glanced down at his watch, and then looked up, seeing her as she approached. She didn't miss the way his eyes took inventory of her before he pushed off of the locker to stand up straight.

"Hi, Clarke. Have you seen Data?" She asked, smiling pleasantly.

"No, actually," he said, refraining from correcting her. "I was just waiting for him."

She leaned against the locker next to him to get out of the flow of chattering students, all pushing and shoving to get to the canteen. "I guess we can wait together then."

She glanced askance at him, wondering if he could give her the information she needed. She decided it was worth a shot.

"So, I heard you helped put the Fratellis away," she started.

"Helped? We practically did all the work ourselves."

She looked askance at him. "I can't find anything much documenting the story. I thought maybe you could fill me in?"

"The treasure's long gone," Mouth replied, shaking his head.

"That's not what I'm after," Lacey interrupted. "I need the story."

"Why?"

The question took her aback a little. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, why?" He repeated. "Why do _you_ want to know?"

"Just for a project."

He raised his eyebrow quizzically, and she took it as a sign that her explanation wasn't enough.

"It's a law essay," she continued quickly. "I got given the Fratellis, and I think your viewpoints would be great to put in."

"Alright," he replied. "There I was, thinking you just wanted to get a little closer..." he leaned towards her with an eyebrow raised.

She exhaled a laugh but took a step back. "Just for the law essay, thanks."

The stream of students had ebbed into a few stragglers, some of which glanced curiously in their direction as they passed.

"I guess Data's not coming," Lacey said after half a minute of silence.

Mouth nodded. "I need to go get food."

"Do you know where I could find him?"

"Only God knows where Data is," Mouth said, turning to leave. "You chose the wrong Goonie to ask, Nichols."

"Wait! Couldn't you answer my questions, then?"

"Nope," he said, still walking away.

"Clarke, please."

His gait faltered. He paused. "Alright. Come to the Goondocks, after school tomorrow," he called over his shoulder, against his better judgement.

Lacey sighed in relief. For a moment there, she thought she'd have to resort to full out begging.

***

"You what?"

Mikey scowled at Mouth, pulling his most angry face - which wasn't really very intimidating.

"I invited her over tomorrow evening. What's your deal? It'll be fun."

"I thought we wanted her to leave well alone, though?"

"Mikey!" Mouth said, a grin spreading over his face. "Don't argue! Just think: a girl _willingly_ entering your house."

"And?"

"Have you seen her? She's a total zeek." Mouth rolled his eyes and wondered how dense his friend could get.

"What subject does she study?" Data asked.

"Law, apparently."

Chunk frowned. "What do you mean, _apparently_?"

Mouth shrugged. "It's what she said. God, chill out, Chunk. She's not a Fratelli spy. She's doing a law essay on them."

"And if she is a spy, my super-cool new Smoke Screen will let us get away!" Data chopped in, holding up a dark green ball.

"Data! Don't set it off in here," Mikey warned.

Data sighed and fished something else out of his pocket. "Okay. I've also got... the Gun Bung!"

"What does it do?" Chunk asked.

"Gee, I've no idea," said Mouth, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Mouth," Mikey and Chunk chorused.

"So, the Gun Bung goes in the gun barrel, like so," Data said, miming, "and when they pull the trigger, the gun explodes in their faces instead of ours!"

"Brilliant!" Chunk cheered. "If we just bung the Fratelli's guns, then-"

"And how are we going to get close enough to stick that in a gun?" Mouth asked, folding his arms. "We're just gonna stroll up and be like: 'oh hi, just sticking this in your gun barrel, don't shoot me yet, please?"

Data pursed his lips. "Yeah, I haven't got that bit yet. I'll let you know when I do, though!"

***

It was late when Lacey got home from her after-school fencing class, and her dad was waiting for her at the door. He greeted her and ushered her in, casting a quick look up and down the street before closing and dead-bolting the door.

"Lacey, can I talk to you for a few moments?" He asked.

She paused on the stairs and turned around, a curious expression on her features. "Uh... yeah?"

Her dad smiled, but the gesture didn't reach his eyes. "What I'm about to tell you is confidential. You can't go telling everyone or they'll get into a panic. It's probably nothing to worry about, anyway, but... Two officers went missing today. And there have been increased reports of theft in the area, since..."

"The prison break?" She filled in.

"Yes. And just as a precaution, I want you to take this." He dug into his pocket and drew out a little can of pepper spray. "I want you to carry it with you at all times. Just as a precaution. But I want you to promise me, okay?"

She took it from his outstretched fingers and nodded. "Yes Dad. I promise."

His relief was written all over his face as she slid it into her school bag. "You remember how to use it?"

Lacey cocked the corner of her mouth. "If I can remember how to use a credit card to escape ziplock ties, Dad, I can remember how to use pepper spray. I'm sure they'll find the officers soon."

She offered him a smile, and continued up the stairs, but not so fast that he didn't hear him mutter: "Yes, in a deep freezer."

Which was very puzzling indeed.


	6. Falsetto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey arrives at Mikey's house and Chunk almost puts his foot in it.

The next day, Lacey found herself on the doorstep of Michael Walsh's house, with notebook and pen in hand, praying to whatever deities were out there that Mouth hadn't changed his mind about telling their story.

She tried the gate, but it seemed to be stuck with some kind of mechanism.

"Hey, hello?" She called out.

Mikey's face appeared in the window and she waved awkwardly with her pencil.

He disappeared and she heard some talking until Data opened the screen door and pushed a bowling ball at the top of the stairs. After a complicated procedure involving multiple pulleys and triggers, the gate sprang open.

"That's neat," she said when she got to the door. "Was that one of your gadgets?"

Data shook his head. "Mikey and Brand made that," he explained, reopening the door, which had swung shut.

She pursed her lips, deciding not to ask who 'Brand' was, and followed him into the house.

The boys were all draped over the sofas, with Mouth in the armchair and Chunk and Mikey on opposite ends of the sofa. Data took his place between them.

"Lacey!" Mouth exclaimed, jumping up. "You're early!"

She fought a blush - Why was she blushing? - and shrugged wordlessly.

"Do you want a drink?" Mikey asked abruptly.

"I'm fine thanks," she replied, smiling politely. She glanced around for a seat, but there wasn't one free.

"A strawberry shake, if you would be so kind," Mouth drawled, resting one foot on the table.

"You go get it," Mikey said. "Guests only."

"I am a guest!" Mouth cried indignantly.

"You basically live here," Chunk noted, turning something that looked like a pen over in his fingers.

"I sleep at home," Mouth pointed out.

"Guys?" Data said. "Lacey needs a chair."

Mouth patted his knee. "You can always sit here."

Chunk slapped a pillow into Mouth's face. "Mikey, you got any other chairs?"

"Yes, I'll be a minute."

Lacey nodded gratefully to Chunk, and Mikey came back with one of the chairs from the dining table. Mouth handed her the pillow that Chunk had thrown at him and she made herself comfortable on the other side of the table. She felt like she was interviewing them (which she was, she supposed).

"Alright," she said finally. "Clarke said you could tell me about what happened with the Fratelli's for my law essay."

Chunk snorted when she said 'Clarke', but no one paid much attention to it.

"What do you want to know?" Mikey asked cautiously.

She poised her pen and tilted her head. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

When no one said anything, Chunk decided to start them off. "It kinda started when these developers told us they bought the area," he said. "It was our last day together - the four of us - and we decided to go up into Mikey's loft."

"Or Mouth did," Mikey grumbled.

"Mikey's dads the curator of a museum. There's all sorts of cool stuff up there - plasma balls, old paintings, weapons-" Mouth listed.

"You guys, she just wants the story," Data pointed out. "What did we get to? Oh yeah. So we found the map in the attic, and we followed it all the way to this shack, right?"

"Super creepy," Chunk added.

"Right. And it looked like it was closed, but the map said to go right where the shack was, so we knocked on the door-"

"And I found an RV with bullet holes in it and tried to warn them it was the Fratellis-"

"They'd only just broken out of jail that morning," Mikey supplied.

"-And then we all went in and just asked for water. And Mouth decided to ask-"

"Zzzzzzzzzp," Mouth interrupted, miming skipping a bit on a tape, throwing a meaning look at Data. "We _all_ went in and asked for water, then Mikey asked to go to the toilet and had a snoop round the restaurant. 'Course, we were all up there making small talk with Mama Fratelli - and we didn't even realise who they _were_. Then Brand showed up-"

"My brother," Mikey added.

"And he was all like," Mouth put on a falsetto, "' _don't do this, you've got to come back home!'_ We left the restaurant and waited for the Fratellis to leave, then we snuck back in and found the passage."

Chunk nodded eagerly. "And I went to get help but the Fratellis caught me and they locked me up with Sloth, and they threatened to blender my hands! So I had to tell them where the secret passage was-"

Lacey paused in her writing. "Wait, who's Sloth?"

Chunk's face went white.

"He's, uh, he's..." Data stuttered.

"A dog," Mikey said.

"A Doberman," Mouth said quickly. "He's dead now though. Got ran over."

"Right- _right_." Chunk nodded. "So I escaped and called the police, and then followed after the Fratellis."

They recounted all of the traps they had outsmarted, each boy adding extra little details until Lacey's notes were a jumble of little comments.

"And then the Fratellis caught us on the _Inferno_ ," Mikey said. He'd seemed to relax as the story was recounted - in fact, all of them had. She wondered if this was the first time they'd talked the whole thing through. From the way their stories conflicted slightly, it sounded like it.

"They took all the rich stuff off us," Data complained. "All of it."

"Then Chunk arrived with - the dog," Mouth continued haltingly, "and distracted the Fratellis so we could all jump overboard and make a swim for it."

"The Fratellis must've gotten greedy and set off Willy's last trap, because the cave started collapsing. We only just made it out alive." Mikey nodded seriously. "Out on the beach we found the cops, and the cops arrested the Fratellis. The developers came to see my dad to get his final signature, but just in time our housekeeper found the last jewels in my marble bag and we were able to buy back the estate."

"And there we have it," Mouth said, leaning back into his chair. "The story of the most exciting day of our lives."

"It would certainly make for a good book," Lacey agreed. "I just have a few questions." She crossed one leg over the other and leaned in slightly. "Do you know anything about the last Fratelli brother? His name was Lotney."

"L-Lotney?" Chunk stammered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Just a little note to say I appreciate any feedback, if you spot any spelling and grammar mistakes just let me know <3


	7. Mind Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chunk learns something about his adopted brother. Mouth rescues Chunk from more of Lacey's questions.

"No, we don't," Mikey said firmly. "Why?"

"He's documented in one of the articles I found," she replied distractedly, flicking through the small pile she'd brought with her. She drew out the slip of paper with flourish. "Here it is. It's about Anne's first murder."

Mouth plucked it from her fingers and scanned it quickly. "She killed her husband?" He said after a moment. "Geez. Chunk- you'll want to see this."

The other boy knitted his eyebrows, but stretched across the table to take it anyway.

"Where did you find that?" Mikey asked her, while Data read the article over Chunk's shoulder.

She shrugged. "The library. I've been doing a lot of research."

"Have you got anything else like that?" Mikey pushed. "Any letters, photos, news reports..?"

"I've got a whole file of them," she admitted, taking the news report back from a stunned-looking Chunk and sliding it back into her notepad.

"Could we see them?" Mouth asked.

"I can do you one better," she said, dropping her things into her satchel. "I can give you a copy of the report."

"How long will that be?" Data asked.

She picked up her bag and dropped the strap onto her shoulder, rising to her feet. "Two weeks. Thank you for all your help-"

"Can we have that information sooner?" Mikey questioned. "All the stuff you've collected- can we see it? As soon as possible?"

She faltered. "Sure, I guess. But what's the rush?"

Mouth started to speak, but Mikey slapped his knee and flashed Lacey a winning smile. "We're just interested. I mean, it does good to know who really tried to kill you, you know?"

She nodded. "Of course. I'll bring a batch over after my fencing lesson on Friday."

As soon as she was gone, Chunk turned to his friends with a serious expression. "I think we should ask for her help."

"Absolutely not," Mikey said immediately.

"I think it's a good idea," Data chopped in. "She knows more about the Fratellis than any of us."

"We can't just bring in someone we don't know to solve our problems for us," Mikey pointed out.

Chunk shrugged. "She might know their tactics. Weak points. If we could-"

"We should keep it within the Goonies," Mikey repeated firmly, swinging his legs off of the arm of the chair to sit squarely. "She might become a liability."

"Yeah," agreed Mouth. "We don't want to get anyone hurt."

"I thought you'd be on our side, Mouth," Chunk said, surprised.

"Only 'cause she'll distract Mikey and Data all the time," he grinned, instinctively flinching before Data elbowed him in the ribs.

"You just don't trust her Mikey," Chunk grumbled. "Mouth obviously does. He invited her here in the first place."

Mouth frowned. "But only to get information."

"You didn't even know she knew anything much. Did you even know she did fencing? Fancy. _And_ you were just as surprised as we were about that news," Data observed. "I'd say that..."

"Yeah, what was that about?" Mikey asked, turning quizzically to Chunk. "I didn't get to see it."

"It was about Sloth," Mouth said simply. "Why he is..."

"He was beaten up by his father when he was just a baby," Chunk said hollowly, only a little tremor to his voice. "And Mama Fratelli killed her husband for it."

"It's alright, it doesn't change anything," Data soothed. "He's still here, right?"

Chunk nodded slowly. "Right."

***

Two days later, Chunk was more distressed than ever. They didn't know how to find the money, another note had been found, and Mikey and Mouth we're getting more and more argumentative, but not more productive.

Finally, he decided to seek out Lacey.

He managed to find her at her locker at the start of lunch, and she smiled warmly when she saw him.

"Hi, Chunk," she greeted, closing up her locker. "How are you?"

"Not too good, actually," he said, fondling with his fingers. "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure. Let's go outside."

He trailed after her as she led the way to a picnic bench on the corner of the school field.

"Alright," she said once they had both sat down. "What's bothering you?"

"Well, you know the Fratellis, right?" He began. "They actually broke out of prison this week. And they're not very happy with us Goonies," he trailed off and took a deep breath. "We've... we've been getting threats, and none of us know what to do, they either want money we don't have or revenge. And Mikey says we shouldn't bring other people into it but I couldn't just sit there and do nothing, and since you know so much about them I thought you could maybe help."

Lacey sat there in stunned silence. After a moment, she rested her chin in her hands and regarded him. "How long has this been happening?"

"Since we got news they broke out."

"Interesting." She started tracing a swirl on her cheek as she thought. "Where have you found the notes?"

"All over - in our lockers, houses, bags..."

"Then they must know you don't have the money," she surmised. "If they've been in your houses... They must be playing mind games."

"Mind games?"

"They like torture, right? This is just another form. You all getting worried is just feeding their fire. They'll keep upping their game until they drive you insane, and then they'll kill you."

Chunk's lip quivered. "So they're gonna kill us?"

"I think they mean to. But this is good. It gives you time. How much money do they want?"

"Two million."

Both of them jumped as Mouth spoke, Chunk turning with a guilty expression to face his friend.

"Mikey found another note - saying to not tell anyone, Chunk. Well done."

"I don't understand why you haven't gone to the police yet," Lacey said firmly, detecting the hostility in the air.

"What could they do? The only time they ever managed to round them up was when a bunch of kids accidentally dropped a cave roof on them," Mouth said brusquely. "The police would just complicate things further. This is a job for _us_."

"But I can help," she tried, taken aback. "I've got the notes-"

"You've got to forget what Chunk just told you, for all our sakes," he said. "You can't tell anyone. Not your parents - especially not your dad - no one. _Entiendes_?"

"Got it," she replied.

"Great. C'mon Chunk, let's leave the pretty lady in peace." He glanced back at her and winked, taking away the harshness of his rebuttal of help, but the way he slung his arm around Chunk's shoulders as they walked away told her all she needed to know - he was uneasy.

Hell, so was she, now.


	8. Brand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey meets Lacey after her fencing practice. Brand comes home and Lacey delivers her research to the Walsh house.

Back at home, Lacey poured over her resources, trying to find anything that might be of use to the boys. Her father hadn't been able to tell her anything about the hunt for the missing criminals, except that one of the low-risk men had been found and detained - not the news she had been looking for.

There was a knock at her door, and her mom peered around the door. "Lacey dear, it's almost ten o'clock. You need to give that work a break and go to bed, sweetie."

She bobbed her head lethargically and closed her file. "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, mum."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Once her mother was gone, Lacey leaned back in her chair and stretched. _How long had she been sat there? Two hours? Three?_ She wasn't sure. Still, no new breakthroughs - only things she'd been over once, twice, reading between lines that weren't there.

Throwing herself face down on the bed, she sighed. There had to be a way to help. Whether Mouth and Mikey liked it or not.

She turned the radio on, as she usually did, with a half-hour timer, and drifted off to sleep with reports of a library opening, a ghostly ship spotted in the fog, and non-existent updates on the twenty remaining convicted criminals loose in Astoria.

***

Lacey's Friday fencing session came and went sooner than she would have liked. She poured all of her frustration into her thrusts and parries, so much so that her coach pulled her aside afterwards and congratulated her improvement. She pulled up her mask to reveal her reddened face, and only thanked her coach before stepping out of the sports hall and going to get changed.

She was surprised to see Mikey waiting outside the school. Even more surprised when he called out for her to wait and she realised he'd been waiting for her.

"Hey," he said, falling into pace with her. "I just wanted to say thanks in person for the stuff you'll be bringing over later."

She shrugged. "That's alright. It's the only thing I can do."

Mikey caught her arm. "We've been talking, and... None of us want anyone else to get hurt. So... I think it would just be best if you posted the information and let us deal with it."

Lacey bit her tongue and nodded. "If that's what you want. I know I can't force you to take my help."

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"But if there's anything I can do - me or my dad - you know where to find me," she insisted. "I'm more than willing to help."

"Thanks," he repeated. "We'll keep it in mind."

She could see in his eyes he was only saying that to placate her, and decided it would be good to just part ways now. "Have a good evening, Mikey," she said, quickening her pace.

"You too," he replied to her retreating back.

***

When Lacey got home, she gathered all of the cuttings, photos and reports that she'd finished with and loaded them into one file, somewhat haphazardly with only a little organisation. She figured they'd be able to organise it how they wanted, if the material was even useful to them. Although she doubted it. She'd combed through it enough to know there was little of interest there, and it certainly wouldn't get them out of the mess they were in.

The Walsh's house was only half an hour's walk away, but that time was halved by bike. Deciding to make it quick, she zipped the file in a backpack and cycled the distance.

At the gate, she paused. How was she meant to get it to the door? They had a postbox, sure, but the thick file wouldn't fit, and she didn't fancy leaving it on top for just anyone to find.

She studied the contraption intently, and then managed to find the hidden latch on the gate; it sprang open with a slight squeak.

She had planned only to leave the file just inside the door, but when she eased open the fly-screen and slid it onto the tiled floor she was met by a pair of feet. She looked up slowly and saw an older boy looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked as she straightened herself up.

"I was just dropping off a file." She gestured at it. "I'm one of Mikey's friends," she added hopefully.

The suspicion still lingered, but the boy shrugged and picked it up. "Sure. So what's the file on?"

She shifted a bit, wondering if this boy knew about the predicament Mikey was in. "The Fratellis. I've been doing a project on them and they asked to see the cuttings I'd gathered."

Immediately, the suspicion turned to curiosity. "The Fratellis, huh? Does it make for a good read?"

"It's interesting," she confirmed.

Before she could stop him, Brand leaned backwards and called out: "Mikey! Your friend's here!"

"Brand, who- oh, hi Lacey," Mikey said, stopping just behind the older boy.

"I brought the file," she said, and Mikey looked to where Brand held it.


	9. Blackmail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lacey meets Andy and Stef. Mouth warns Lacey to stay away. Exploration of Stef and Mouth's past relationship.

"I brought the file," Lacey said, and Mikey looked to where Brand held it. Brand looked down at it, then looked at Mikey with a smirk.

"So, little brother, are you gonna tell me why you're suddenly so interested in the Fratellis?"

Mikey glanced quickly at Lacey, clearly screaming for help, and she understood that Brand wasn't meant to know about the threats.

"I was talking to him about it in English," Lacey said. "He offered to help me sort them into some kind of order so I could use them for my law essay."

Brand pursed his lips and leaned closer to his brother's ear.

"Hey Mikey," he whispered loudly. "If you want to date a girl you just ask, don't pussyfoot around with offering to help-"

Mikey recoiled and hit Brand's shoulder, who burst out laughing. Lacey's cheeks flushed and she became quite interested in Mrs Walsh's pink climbing rose.

"No! It's not like that!" Mikey protested, pushing Brand back inside the house.

"Come inside," Brand invited. Catching Mikey in a headlock, he led the way into the house without giving her a chance to say no.

She lingered on the doorstep for only a few moments before deciding that it would be rude to just disappear.

The inside of the Walsh home was just as Lacey expected: homey and warm. Although it looked as though Mrs Walsh tried her best to keep it clean, two sons (not to mention the three other boys who seemed to be there permanently) and her week-long absence meant it was messy. What Lacey didn't expect, however, were the two girls sitting on cushions on the floor, playing some kind of fast-paced card game.

The boys, unsurprising, were sitting in the same seating arrangement as before; they obviously had their preferred spots. Mikey had managed to free himself of Brand's hold, and was now wrestling him for the folder.

Chunk was the first to notice her, his face breaking out into a smile. "Lacey!" He exclaimed. "I thought you weren't coming today?"

"I-I didn't mean to," she said. "I'll only stay for a few minutes."

"Won't anyone introduce us?"

Lacey startled as one of the girls - the shorter one with curly brown hair - seemed to appear out of nowhere at her shoulder.

"I'm Andy," the girl said, "Brand's girlfriend. And that's Stef." She pointed at the other girl, who wore large glasses and had a pixie-cut. The girl wiggled her fingers at Lacey in a wave.

"I'm Lacey," Lacey said, curling her nails into her palm to try to keep her cool in the presence of so many older teens.

"She's Mikey's girlfriend!" Brand teased, managing to knock his brother over with a toe-tap to the back of his knee.

"I'm not," Lacey reassured Andy hurriedly.

"Oh, ignore him. He likes to wind Mikey up. Would you like a drink? I'm not sure what we've got, I mean because I don't live here, but I'm sure there'll be coffee somewhere, squash, water-"

Lacey smiled but shook her head. "Thank you, but I only came to drop something off. I should go."

"No, stay," Data said earnestly, pointing at an empty dining chair. "You can tell us about that folder."

She blinked. "Um..."

"Folder?" Andy asked. "What folder?"

"It's about the Fratellis," Lacey said, biting her cheek.

Andy's eyes widened. "Oh god, I never want to hear that name again." She shivered and returned to the game with Stef.

Mouth rose to his feet and grabbed Lacey's hand. "Can we talk?" he said in a low voice.

Bewildered and overwhelmed by all the new people, she followed him questionlessly out onto the porch.

That was when he turned around and glowered at her. "Look, I tried to tell you nicely, but I don't know what part of 'don't get involved' you didn't understand! You obviously didn't get something, or else you wouldn't be here."

She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "What is your problem with me, Clarke? You suggested I ask you about the Fratellis, and you were so forthcoming with your story, I thought we were all getting along fine. And now you're just being..." she trailed off and sighed. "Look. I _know_ what I'll be getting into, and I want to help. Why won't you _let_ me?"

He looked away from her. "Because it's _dangerous_ , alright? I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

"Which is honourable and all, but I think I can make my own choices. I'm not a damsel in distress." She leaned back on the railing and huffed.

"Lacey-" he said, reaching out for her arm.

She narrowed her eyes, ignoring his alarmed expression. "So _you_ just need to-"

She was cut off by her own yelp as the railing cracked and buckled. Her body only just tilted backwards, however, before Mouth caught her hand and yanked her towards him. She ended up stumbling into his chest, breathing hard, so shocked that it was a few seconds after what could be expected before she stepped away from his warmth.

"The rail's rotten," he supplied. "I didn't think you'd be falling for your knight in shining armour that quickly."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she just looked back to see half of the wooden railing on the floor, five feet below. She cringed. "I'll have to get that fixed."

Mouth waved her off. "It needed fixing anyway. I'm surprised it didn't crumble on its own."

"So... I'd best get going," she said after a brief pause.

"Yeah. And the damsel shouldn't come back," he said, the tease outweighed by the warning in his tone.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Whatever you say."

He was satisfied when she finally left, and he watched and waited for her to cycle out of sight before he made a move to go back inside.

His way, however, was blocked by Stef, who had a sly smirk on her lips. He paled.

"That was interesting," she commented, coming to stand next to him.

"Yeah?"

His relationship with Stef was an odd one. There had definitely been mutual attraction - that much was certain - but neither had acted on it more than exchanging teasing words. Once Stef had left for University, a little of that spark had gotten colder, especially since she currently had a boyfriend. Truthfully, he didn't know what to make of it all.

"What are you protecting her from? Mikey's twisted ways?" She probed.

"I'm not protecting her from anything," he objected.

"What's so dangerous that you've gotta push her away then?"

"Nothing. I just don't want her pushing in here and ruining things."

Stef glanced sidelong at him. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that little show of heroics was planned. Very smooth."

"Why would I-"

"And that hug lasted a bit longer than necessary," she observed lightly.

"Stef-"

"'Course, I wouldn't mention it to anyone if you told me what was so dangerous that you've got to threaten your crush..."


	10. Go On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brand finds out about the threats. Lacey goes to the police and recieves a threatening note.

"Mikey, how could you keep this from me? This is serious!" Brand ran a hand through his hair and turned.

"Brand, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet," Stef warned.

"Brand, please sit down so we can try and work this out," Andy pleaded, tugging on his sleeve.

He relented and Andy hopped up from her seat to let him take it, then perched on the arm.

"Alright." Brand cast an eye over the four other boys. Chunk and Data were avoiding eye contact, Mouth was trying not to look at Mikey, and Mikey was glaring at Mouth. "So you've been getting death threats for a week. Why haven't you told the police?"

"Brand, be serious," Stef said. "What could they do? They're already out searching for them."

"The police could set up a guard or something," Andy suggested. "I mean, they can set up protection and stuff, right?"

"They said if we say anything they'll- they'll _kill_ us," Chunk floundered, fiddling with his fingers.

"What about that girl? Does she know?"

Mouth snorted. "Why else would she be giving us the stuff on the Fratellis?"

"Don't you get _mouthy_ now," Brand warned. "This is _serious_. Act like it."

Stef leaned over to take Andy's hand. The smaller girl was trembling.

"It'll be alright, chick," she murmured, squeezing Andy's hand.

***

Not stopping long at home, Lacey only dashed upstairs for a few minutes before coming back out, her backpack bulging.

She cycled straight to the police station, and leant her bike on the bushes before heading in.

"Hi," she said to the receptionist. "I'm here to talk to someone about the Fratelli case. I have some information."

The receptionist's eyes bugged and she immediately picked up the phone. "Mr Thomas, someone to see you. It's urgent."

She put the phone down after a moment. "Second door on the left, honey," she said, pointing down the corridor.

Lacey thanked her and followed her directions, and knocked on the door indicated.

"Come in."

Mr Thomas was a plain-looking man - salt-and-pepper hair, a thinning mustache, and glasses perched on top of his head. On the wall of his office a large cork board was hung, with pictures and paper pinned onto a map of Astoria.

"Miss Nichols," he said, recognising her from when her dad had invited Mr Thomas for tea. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied, swinging her backpack off of her back. "I came to give you these."

She unloaded another file from her bag and handed it to him. "I don't know if it will help, but that's everything I could find on the Fratellis from the library that's useful."

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, thank you. There could be something in here that could point us to where they might be hiding their gang."

"Gang?"

His eyes widened. "Thats confidential. I can trust you to keep it secret, can't I?"

She bobbed her head. "Of course."

Mr Thomas sat down heavily. "We think the Fratellis staged the escape, and are now using the other criminals to do their dirty work. There's been more thefts and assaults than usual. I suspect they've gotten people that are under the radar in on their little scheme too."

"Any idea what they want?"

"Not yet. We do know they've stayed in or near Astoria though." He shook his head sadly. "God forbid, but we're wondering if the assault will escalate into murder. They're certainly capable of it."

She bit her tongue and forced a smile. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," she agreed. "I have to be home by dark sir, so I need to go. I hope you find them soon."

"You and me both. Give my regards to your family."

Lacey cycled to the Walsh home in record time, abandoning her bike by their fence. She paused at the gate, but went through anyway, taking the steps two at a time. She rapped sharply on the door.

To her chagrin, it was Mouth who opened it.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. "Look, I know you said not to get involved, but this is the last thing, I swear."

He leaned against the door. "Go on, then."

"I just went to the police station to see my dad, and they told me the Fratellis have got a gang together. Like, a big one. They're probably using them to slip you the messages."

Realisation dawned on his face. "That makes a lot of sense."

"Also, they've been stealing. He didn't say, but I think they've been stealing weapons. And three police officers have gone missing so far." She put her hand in her hip, trying to regain her breath.

"The only way to get rid of a stitch is to power through it," he said pointedly.

"Yeah... yeah, sorry. I just rode really fast. I'll see you around." She turned away and went to go down the stairs.

"Don't trip up," he said. "I wouldn't want you falling for me again."

To exhausted to send a quip back, she simply raised a hand in farewell after pulling her bike out of the hedge.

***

The folded paper was inconspicuously hidden alongside the bookmark in the novel on her bedside table. Just the sight of the shadow of the ink made her drop the book.

She scanned the room for anything out of place, then checked her window. All safe.

With trepidation, Lacey turned back to the book, let it fall open and plucked the paper out. It was inconspicuously placed, but obviously meant for her to find and her alone. There was no question about it.

**Keep your mouth shut, princessa, or the police won't be able to hear your screams.**

That's all it said. Straight to the point, unquestionable - they knew what she'd done. Whether it was her visits to the Walsh's, the police, or both she didn't know, but the message was clear - _stop it_.

She swallowed thickly and thought for a moment, and then crept into her parent's room: checked that the weapon was still where she'd seen it last - it was.

After another moment of thought, she placed the pepper-spray on her bedside table, and flicked the knife out on her Swiss Army and hid it under her pillow. Finally, she slid the note into her school bag. It was better off on her person than lying around for her parents to find.


	11. Salt and Pepper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jude teases Lacey. Data has a new invention which Jude is not impressed about.

Monday morning spelt lethargy for the best of students, but Lacey felt dead on her feet when she flopped into her seat beside Jude.

"Girl, you look like a zombie," Jude said, patting Lacey on the back. "Is everything okay?"

"Slept badly," Lacey mumbled as she drew out her books.

"Anything to do with your new obsession?"

Lacey rested her head on her hand and blinked slowly. "Hm?"

Jude smirked. "You know. Mikey Walsh."

Lacey let her arm give out and rested her head on the table. "No. Who told you that?"

"Someone said they saw you go there twice this week. They must live on the same road or something," Jude explained. "So is there anything you want to tell me?"

"He's helping me with my project. About that thing you found in that newspaper?"

Lacey was saved by the teacher requesting silence for the register, and then silence for note taking. She napped the entire way through her double class.

At break, the two girls went to their usual table outside, and Jude immediately started probing for gossip.

"So what did you find out?" She asked, taking a bite of her apple.

_Too much._

Lacey pulled out her notes and handed them to Jude, too tired to explain, and revelled in the few minutes of silence.

Eventually, Jude looked up and whistled, pushing the pad back towards Lacey. "Some story. Are you sure all that really did happen? It sounds a bit farfetched."

Pressing her lips into a line, she nodded, slipping her notes back into her bag. "Of course it did. They all told me the same story."

Jude raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Oh, so who's _they all_?"

Lacey groaned. "Mikey's friends."

Jude flicked her eyebrows up. "Oh, _I_ see. And was _you-know-who_ -" she cut herself off as she glanced up.

"Hi Lacey," Data chirped as appeared beside her. "Have you got a moment? I need your advice."

She turned her eyes on him slowly. "Sure. What's up?"

He fished around in his bag and brought out a small can, talking all the while. "See I'm trying to make this thing like pepper spray but less harmful, so it doesn't make your skin all puffy, and since your dads a police officer I thought I'd come to you and ask what bottle I should put it in? Because this is a spray bottle but I don't think it's concentrated enough, see?"

He pressed down on the nozzle before she could stop him, send out a mist of spray. The breeze blew it straight into Jude's face.

Immediately, Jude cursed, rubbing at her face and jumping to her feet.

"Sorry! Data's sorry, I-"

"Data!" Lacey exclaimed, getting up and rushing to her friend's side.

"Water, water, it comes off with water," he spluttered, and rooted around in his bag.

"Look in my bag, its on the left," she instructed, and reached back to take it without taking her eyes off of Jude, who was cussing like a sailor with her hands over her face.

Lacey unscrewed her bottle and poured it onto her jumper sleeve, pulling her arm out of the sleeve and peeling at Jude's fingers. She applied her sleeve and smoothed it over her face, and when Jude took it from her she awkwardly pulled her jumper completely off, wetting more of the material so Jude had a fresh surface to rub at her face with.

Lacey turned exasperatedly to Data, but bit the tip of her tongue when she saw Mouth standing there holding her bag, and Data's can. He must have been the one to give her the water.

" _Never_ ," Jude rasped, " _ever_ do that again, or I won't class it as an _accident_."

Lacey glanced at her friend, who had finished wiping herself down. There was little harm done except for the fact her mascara had smeared and she vaguely resembled a panda.

Lacey quietly pointed it out to Jude, and promised to meet her in the girls' toilets in a few minutes.

As Jude left (throwing a quizzical glance at Mouth), Lacey turned eyes on Data, who refused to meet her gaze.

"I'm not going to even bother to say anything," she said. "My sentiments are the same as Jude's." She looked at Mouth. "Can I help you at all?"

"Nope, but Data can. I'm here to tell him there's a meeting tonight. Hi, by the way." He flashed her a smile.

"Hi yourself," she replied simply.

God, his mood changes we're giving her whiplash. At least she'd figured out when to expect them - he got all defensive whenever she tried to help with the case. She had to give it to him - he was loyal to a fault and so protective of his friends, though she'd bet he'd say otherwise if she questioned it. If only he'd just let her _help_.

"Andy really wants to see you again Lacey," Data said excitedly. "You should come tonight."

She didn't even bother cutting her eyes to Mouth. She shook her head apologetically. "I've got to work on my essay, mum'll kill me if I end up finishing it last minute," she lied easily.

Data's face fell. "Well, alright. But maybe you can come another day?"

"I'll see how far I get with my essay," she assured.

She finally looked at Mouth, and he nodded gratefully with her empty promise.

The truth was, she'd been thinking all weekend about the Fratellis. With the library resources dried up, she poured long hours into her essay to distract her from the present situation and delve into the past. She had ended up finishing it over a week before it was due.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, what do you think so far?


	12. Precautions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brand wants to talk to Lacey. The Goonies discuss money.

Fifth period English on a Monday was a prison sentence, Lacey decided as she made herself comfortable at the front left of the room, out of the main line of sight of the teacher. Feigning to be searching up quotes, she actually just read random passages of the book they were studying, without taking any of it in.

At the final bell, she was the first out of the door, and headed straight for her locker. She'd only just got it open when Mikey popped up beside her, having followed her from class.

"We're having a meeting tonight," he informed her hopefully.

"You know Mouth will kill me if I come," she said, shoving her English folder alongside her others.

"Brand made me invite you," said Mikey. "He wants to talk to you."

She shut her locker harder than she had intended. "Look, I'm not sure I should- "

He put a hand on her shoulder, making her blink at him in surprise. "I think we do need your help," he said earnestly. "And I know you want to be there tonight. Please."

How could she say no to that? "Alright," she conceded. "But I won't stay for too long."

"Perfect," he grinned. "My house, bring more notes if you can."

"You'd best tell Mouth I'm coming," she warned.

He nodded as he backed up to let an impatient student into the locker he had been standing in front of. "I will!"

***

Mikey's house was in a similar state of disarray to the last time she had come over, except the coffee table had been cleared and her newspaper clippings organised over it. Everyone else was already assembled around it, and Lacey spotted a spare seat between Chunk and Andy.

Lacey had let herself through the fly-door and knocked awkwardly on the door-frame to make her presence known.

"Hi, Lacey, take a seat," Brand said.

"What's in the box?" Stef asked.

"More clippings." She'd brought the bigger ones and the ones that only mentioned the Fratellis this time, and they wouldn't all fit in a folder - she'd also put in some books (censuses, awards-books, etc.) that she hadn't been able to rip up.

"Great, I'll have them here." Brand reached over the table to take it from her, placing it easily down beside the sofa when she had had trouble carrying it up the stairs.

Lacey clasped her hands together as Brand began to speak.

"Okay, since we've got our last member, we can start. First of all, does anyone have any other communications from the Fratellis they want to declare?"

Chunk shakily handed a slip of paper to Brand.

" _You'll need two million coins to throw in a wishing well to stop what we plan to do to you,_ " Brand read out.

"Something equally as horrible as what they plan to do to the rest of us, I guess," Mouth said, rolling his eyes.

Lacey startled as she felt soft skin touch her hands. She hadn't realised her knuckles had gone white; her head shot up, her eyes met with Andy's reassuring smile. Lacey could see the fear in the other girl's eyes, masked only by the honest want to comfort her.

Lacey pulled the corners of her mouth up into a smile and loosened her fingers, stretching them out as Andy withdrew her hand. When she came back to the conversation her gaze gravitated directly to Mouth, and she caught his own eyes flick away from her clasped hands, as if he'd been staring absently in thought and had just been spotted.

Weird.

"...because the frequency of the letters is getting higher, I think they're getting bored. The likelihood they will strike grows with every day. And so my thinking is this: none of us go anywhere on our own. Call sleepovers, sneak out, whatever you have to do."

"Our safety is more important than disobeying our parents," Stef agreed, bobbing her head thoughtfully. "Obviously Andy and I will stay together. What about you, Lacey?"

Lacey shrugged. "I should think I'll be fine on my own. I haven't had any letters yet, and I doubt they even know I exist." She made sure to keep her tone even, speaking deliberately slowly and naturally.

They seemed unsure, but they bought it.

"Alright. But make sure you tell us if you do get contacted," Brand accepted. "Mikey says you have English together, so he can tell you about anything you need to know then. Us three are going back to Uni tonight. Do you think you can hold on until next weekend?"

"Do you think the Fratellis will come before then?" Chunk asked. It took Lacey a moment before she realised he was asking her.

"I don't think so," she said. "They'll want _some_ money, at least. They'll need it to get out of the country."

"We've all been collecting," Andy said proudly. "I've been working at the hair salon."

"But it's not going to be enough," Mikey pointed out.

"I think they'll want some easy money. Their gang has probably been keeping an eye on what you're doing."

"I still think we should do something more drastic," Mouth said.

"We are not going to be robbing the bank," Stef said firmly.

"Not the bank. But what about the jewellery store on the top of the hill?"

"We would be caught for sure," said Data.

"We'd be safer in prison than out here. It's concrete." Chunk seemed to be seriously considering it, before Brand narrowed his eyes.

"No one is going to be going to prison, and no one is going to die. For all we know, the police might arrest them tomorrow and we won't have to worry anymore. For now, let's just take precautions. Okay?"


	13. Alibi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mouth seeks out Lacey in the corridor. Friday is movie night and Mikey is the mom friend.

The Fratellis weren't so artful with hiding their next warning to Lacey.

The innocent piece of paper was placed right on the centre of her pillow - right next to a knife-sized tear, from which feathers had pulled free. There were two indentations on either side of her once beautifully-made bed, too; someone had knelt on her bed and stabbed her pillow, right where her sleeping head would have been.

_Final warning, sweetheart._

For some reason the pet name made her feel sicker than the warning itself.

She slid it into her bag alongside the other one, and fetched a needle and thread from her mum's sewing basket. When it was done, she turned the pillow over.

Out of sight, out of mind.

***

Lacey kept herself purposefully busy all week, throwing herself into her studies. Mikey checked up on her every day and gave her whatever small updates he had, but apart from that she only saw the four boys to say hello to in the hallways.

Thursday afternoon came around sooner than Lacey had expected. She and Jude were just heading inside from lunch, when Lacey quite literally walked into Mouth as he came out of the building.

He caught her arms and balanced her, then let her go.

"I was looking for you," he informed her. "I came to invite you over tomorrow night."

Jude's eyebrows shot up, and Lacey pursed her lips. "Are you _sure_?"

"Why would I not be?"

She darted her eyes to Jude, and then looked pointedly at the door. Ever the wing girl, Jude nodded knowingly and excused herself to the bathroom. Lacey knew she'd have a lot of lies to spin when she met back up with her.

"I figured it's probably safer at Mikey's than yours," Mouth admitted, once Jude was out of earshot. "It's movie night on Fridays. And I promise it's fun as long as Chunk doesn't pick something cissy."

"I don't have anything on tomorrow," she said, "so alright. But if Jude says anything to you, what are you going to say?"

He lifted a shoulder. "The truth."

She opened her mouth to tell him he couldn't possibly, but he cut her off.

"I invited you over for a movie, we ate a bucketload of popcorn, and it was great." He cocked an eyebrow. "Unless you want to come up with a more elaborate story?"

"No, no that sounds fine."

"I mean, I could say that we cuddled on the sofa all night and when you fell asleep you drooled all over my shoulder, but-"

"The first one was fine," she said, a smile playing around the corner of her lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Straight after school," he confirmed. "Tell your parents you're at Jude's for a sleepover or something."

"I'll figure something out."

When Friday evening came around, Lacey was all set to go to the Walsh's house. She'd packed her overnight gear (she assumed that Mouth had meant for her to sleep over, since he implied she'd have to have an alibi for the whole night) and the overnight bag also convinced her parents that she was staying at Jude's. She'd even persuaded her mom to get her some popcorn at the shops, and stashed that in with her pyjamas in her schoolbag. She'd forgone her folders for the day, resolving to work in a notepad and stick the pages in later to save room and weight for the walk to Mikey's.

It was a little awkward trying to balance herself on her bike with the two bags, so she decided to walk the distance this time. It took her all of twenty-five minutes, but she got to see scenery that she never noticed usually so she didn't mind.

"Lacey! I can't believe you actually came," Data greeted her at the door. "Mikey said you said you have popcorn?"

"Of course." She handed him her schoolbag when he offered to take it, and he placed it along with everyone else's at the side of the room.

"Hi guys," she greeted, choosing a spot on the end of the sofa. "Everyone okay?"

"We're okay. What about you? You've been busy, Mikey says," Chunk said, pausing from rifling through a stack of DVDs.

It seemed like they all paused what they were doing to listen to her answer. "I have been busy," she answered truthfully. "I procrastinated all of my other work because of..." she gestured at them all, "so I kind of needed to catch up."

"Yeah, that's fair," Chunk agreed, and then went back to looking through the DVDs. "So what kind of movies do you watch? Romance?"

She giggled. "No! I like watching action movies with my dad. And we watch CHIPS whenever it's on TV."

Data's eyes bugged. "You watch CHIPS? That's my favourite series! All the gadgets are amazing!"

"Not to mention the kicking ass," Mouth added.

"Language," Mikey muttered, going to undo a can of soda. It fizzed and overflowed, and he cursed as he jumped to his feet, his trousers soaked.

"Mouth!" Mikey fumed, as the other boy howled with laughter.

Mouth only pointed at Chunk, who shrugged ruefully. "I thought Mouth would be greedy and take the first one."

Mouth gasped. "You take that back!"

A pillow soared in Chunk's direction, and Mikey leant towards Lacey. "They're always like this," he said long-sufferingly. They watched as Data laughed at something one of them had said, and got two pillows in the face.

"Not fair, guys, not fair!"

"I'm going to get a cloth," said Mikey.

"I'll get it," Lacey said, standing up. "You go get changed. I can do the popcorn while I'm in the kitchen."

He smiled in thanks and started for the stairs, while she pulled the popcorn out of her bag. She dodged a flying pillow with ease and snagged the soda can on the way to the kitchen, to avoid it spilling any more.


	14. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brand, Stef and Andy come home for the weekend again. Stef, Andy and Lacey chat in the kitchen.

After a little searching she managed to locate the towels and threw two in the general direction of the sofa.

"If you want any popcorn, you should help clean that up," she called, and went back into the kitchen, not bothering to look whether they'd followed her advice - the exclaimed insults were replaced with more normal levels of speech, but she couldn't hear what they were saying, so she assumed they had.

When she brought two bowls of popcorn back into the room, the towels had been lumped in a pile next to the sofa and they were talking in hushed tones. When they heard her footsteps they looked up; she could recognise their guilty expressions well enough. After a quick scan of the room to make sure nothing was broken, she shrugged it off, and when Mikey walked back in the discomfort vanished as if it had never been there.

 _Maybe I was just imagining things_ , she thought to herself, and settled down on the far side of the sofa.

Mouth came and sat down next to her as Chunk put a DVD in - _they were only talking about what DVD to watch, I bet_ \- and when she didn't acknowledge him he leaned towards her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

She turned to look at him, confused. "Of course. Why?"

He shrugged as he settled into his seat, his thigh bumping hers and staying there. "I just wanted to make sure."

She eyed him bemusedly as the start-credits began, then turned her attention to the film. Top Gun - it would forever be a classic. She sent an approving smile at Chunk, and he beamed at her.

About three quarters the way through the movie, there was a knock on the door.

All five of their heads snapped around to stare at it, and then they all leapt to their feet, making for the kitchen, as they had discussed.

"Wait," Mikey whispered, pausing to listen over the noise of the TV, "I hear keys."

They stopped, and when the door swung open it revealed only Brand, who lugged a bright pink suitcase through the door.

"What are you all staring at?" He asked defensively, thinking they were looking at the suitcase. "I swear it's Andy's."

"Whipped," Chunk muttered, though the remark was empty of smugness, as if it had been automatic.

"Who wants pizza?" Mikey asked, breaking the silence. They all nodded.

Lacey, adrenaline pumping through her veins from the unexpected intrusion, went out onto the veranda to greet Stef and Andy, and see if they wanted help with their bags.

"I think we're good," Stef said as she shut the door of Brand's old car. "How is everyone?"

"We're okay. It gave us a fright when Brand came in," Lacey smiled thinly. "I think we all forgot you were coming back today. Or were just on edge."

"We all are," Andy said, swapping a bag into her other hand so she could take Lacey's hand and squeeze it. "But we're going to stick together, right?"

"We'll make it through," Stef added as she made towards the house.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to be sitting next to the phone all night, so we'll be fine," Andy said.

Lacey didn't find that reassuring at all - it was just confirmation that Andy was feeling the pressure too - but she just shrugged and gestures to the house. "After you, then."

When she got back she half-expected her spot to be taken already with the three extra people in the room, but she found that Mouth had stretched out across the space. As soon as he saw her, he straightened up and patted her spot in a clear signal.

She hoped the heat in her face didn't show as she took the seat, and she thanked him for saving it for her.

"It's better than sitting next to Stef," he said casually, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

She turned her head to look at him. "Why?"

"She just likes annoying me," he replied, glancing sidelong at Lacey.

"Am I not as annoying?" Lacey asked.

"Not when you're not ignoring what I say." Mouth shrugged.

She frowned at him and looked away. "I'm not the kind of girl you can control like that."

"No," he agreed, "you're not. Which is kinda why I invited you tonight."

She cut her eyes up to his, to be greeted with a triumphant grin. She didn't really know what to make of it.

"I'm not even going to reply to that," she said eventually.

"You just did," he pointed out.

She was suddenly aware of Chunk, Stef and Andy's presence, and consciously unclenched her hands again. Data was fiddling with some kind of bottle next to the bags, and Brand was in the kitchen with Mikey, making sure he didn't accidentally burn the pizza (as she had been told was a frequent occurrence).

"Not another word," she warned Mouth quietly.

The resulting silence was stifling, and before Chunk could say anything to break it the timer went off. Eager to escape, Lacey got up and went to help Mikey and Brand with the pizza.

Once they had all filled their plates, they settled down again in front of the TV, all squashed onto one sofa and two chairs; Data and Mikey were too late to claim a seat, and ended up sitting on cushions on the floor.

They finished Top Gun - Andy asking questions about the previous plot of the movie before they were even able to resume it - and Lacey offered to help clear up the plates again. She'd become hyper aware of Mouth's jeans against hers, and because of the squash his arm resulted in being pressed against hers. She knew it wouldn't be such a big deal if _she_ didn't make a big deal out of it, but it kept distracting her from the movie.

Out in the kitchen, Andy and Stef joined her, suggesting that they wash up the plates. Stef found some rubber gloves in the cupboard under the sink and ran the hot water into the washing up bowl.

"Okay, so, I couldn't help but notice," Stef began, "that you and Mouth are pretty _close_. Is that new, or..?"

Lacey trained her eyes on the bowl she was drying. "It's nothing," she said firmly - half to herself and half to Stef.

"Don't let him hear you say that," said Andy, placing the plate she had been drying onto the growing pile.

"It's the truth," Lacey insisted.

"Chick, the fact that you're defending it so much tells me it's not nothing, and you know it." Stef handed Lacey another plate with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to tell us if you really don't want to."

Lacey recognised that the girls were too fired up to to listen to her denials, and instead changed the subject.

"So, how is university?"

"Boring," Andy said. "Too many boys trying to," she made air quote, "'have a good time'."

"Even when they know you've got a boyfriend," Stef added, rolling her eyes.

Lacey looked at Andy and tilted her head at Stef in question, mouthing: she _has a boyfriend_? Andy nodded and lifted a shoulder.

"The parties are awesome, though," Stef carried on, passing Andy a glass. "One if the rich guys bought a huge speaker and they bring it to every one."

There was a muffled shout and then talking from the living room, and Lacey heard her name.

"Sounds great," Lacey said to Stef distractedly.

"Lacey," Mikey said, appearing in the doorway. "you need to come in here."

"Now," she heard Brand add.

Her stomach twisted at Mikey's unimpressed expression, and she slowly walked into the living room, both girls behind her swapping confused glances.

She understood what was going on when she saw Mouth on his knees in the middle of the floor, her bag in front of him. One piece of paper was clutched in his hand, the other in Brand's.

"What the hell is this?" Mouth demanded, getting to his feet.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This work is being updated progressively.
> 
> I decided to add this work to the very small number of Goonies fics on AO3 - considering Labyrinth has quite a few, the Goonies fandom here is tiny!
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated <3


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